‘Oi. Where d’you think you’re off to now?’ Annie caught Den by surprise as he came tearing across the street. She grabbed him by the collar and he squirmed and hit out at her with vicious force.

‘Gerroff me! Let me go!’ He twisted away from her, taking off along the street.

‘Den – it’s me – Miss Hanson.’

He slowed and turned round to look at her. Hurrying towards him she could just make out his hostile features in the gloom.

‘What’s going on, Den?’ Taking his arm she pulled him aside, up close to the wall. ‘Who was that man?’

‘No one.’ He put his head down.

‘Den – tell me the truth.’

But he shook his head mutinously.

Annie thought she had better try a different tack. ‘Fancy something to eat?’

There was a pause before he looked up at her again, slyly.

‘I happen to know that Mrs Watts has a great big steak-and-kidney pie on the go tonight.’

He sat shovelling food into his mouth. The others were all waiting for Uncle Eb to finish out in the workshop, but Aunt Hatt found Den a plateful straight away before retreating into her office. Annie and Margaret sat watching him eat, like a ravenous little wolf.

‘Den,’ Margaret said, ‘would you like some jam suet and custard?’

The boy looked agonized. ‘Can’t,’ he said. ‘I gotta go. Gotta go now.’

Annie and Margaret looked at each other.

‘We just don’t want you to come to any harm.’ Annie let Margaret do the talking. She had a gentler way with her and Annie knew that Den had a special feeling for her sister. ‘Won’t you tell us what you were doing for that gentleman? What was it you gave him?’

Den swallowed and looked resentfully at them both. ‘Gems,’ he said. ‘I can’t stop ’ere – I gotta take the money or the bloke’ll finish me.’

‘What bloke?’ Annie said.

Den shrugged. ‘The bloke. In Tenby Street.’

‘How much did he pay you for delivering them?’ Annie asked, beginning to get the picture. The gems must be stolen, she thought, or at the least irregular in some way. She had no clear idea of how these things worked.

Den lowered his head. ‘Four bob.’

Margaret gasped. It would take Mary Poole hours of her toiling work at home to earn that much.

‘I dunno anything about the bloke or what they’re for,’ Den said quickly. ‘I gotta get the four bob for our mom.’

‘Have you done this for the man before, Den?’ Annie asked.

He shook his head, then, looking down, said, ‘Once.’

It certainly beats selling firewood, Annie thought. She was taken aback at the immorality of her thoughts. The boy was turning into a little criminal! But she wondered if she would do the same in his position.